Lebanon Border Ceasefire Attempts Collapsing as Hezbollah Strikes Kiryat Shmona — BEIRUT
— Lebanon’s Kataeb Party formally requested emergency deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces to the Israel-Lebanon border on Friday, a historic step that would mark the first time the national army has entered the contested zone since the 2006 war, as diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire collapsed and cross-border exchanges intensified for the third consecutive day.
The request came after the Israeli Defense Force issued evacuation orders for 23 villages in the Bekaa Valley early Thursday, prompting the second large-scale civilian displacement of the year. IDF warplanes struck weapons storage facilities near Ayta al-Jabal, Rashaf, and Tayr Harfa before dawn, according to the IDF spokesperson. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported at least seven wounded, including two paramedics at a mobile clinic that was hit while treating casualties.
Hezbollah responded within hours, launching a barrage of Katyusha rockets toward the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona and sending explosive drones toward Shebaa Farms — a disputed enclave at the intersection of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government regard as occupied territory.
UN peacekeepers from UNIFIL documented 87 ceasefire violations over 72 hours and said their patrols had been denied access to three observation points along the Blue Line. UN Special Coordinator Jean-Pierre Halkoun convened separate calls with both governments but acknowledged the talks had made no progress.
The World Food Programme suspended operations for 12,000 civilians in the border area, citing security conditions that made humanitarian access impossible. France and the United States each issued statements urging an immediate halt to the exchanges, while the UN Security Council prepared for emergency consultations expected Friday.
The Kataeb Party’s request for army deployment represents a potential inflection point. The Lebanese Armed Forces have largely stayed out of the Israel-Hezbollah buffer zone since the 2006 conflict, and any deployment would carry significant political and constitutional implications.
Layla Hassan is a breaking news correspondent for covering the Middle East and North Africa. Additional reporting by Elias Barakat in Beirut.